Back to Basics
by TwilightRamblings
Summary: Team bonding in the background during Season Six after All In. Canon - follows Horatio through the season. DuCaine friendship and Kyle/Horatio bonding.


**My first CSI:M fanfic so please be kind. Is not going to be romance at this stage but will be strong DuCaine friendship.**

The night seemed more dangerous to Calleigh as she wandered around her apartment. She saw a flash of headlights through her curtains and jumped, startled by the sudden brilliance. "Gosh Calleigh, get a grip," She said with a nervous little laugh.  
Hugging her arms to herself, Calleigh moved to completely close the gap in the curtains. She frowned as she realised that there was a company Hummer outside on the street. Seems that Eric was worried enough to camp outside without telling her. Part of her bristled at the thought of him 'protecting' her and then she flashed back to waking up in that warehouse and felt her irritation slip away. Perhaps she would invite Eric in for a cup of coffee.  
Her phone rang just as she reached for the door handle and she jogged back to answer it. "Dusquene."  
"Hey Calleigh, it's Eric. I just wanted to check how you were feeling." Calleigh was confused; Eric must be calling from just outside.  
"Why didn't you come in and ask?" Calleigh asked.  
"What do you mean, Calleigh? I'm at home, I'd have to drive forty minutes to get to your place." Eric laughed uneasily.  
"Then whose company Hummer is outside my front door?" Calleigh nervously moved back to the window, irrationally fearing that Seth had somehow escaped from jail and stolen the Hummer.  
"It could be anyone's, Calleigh. We were all worried about you today. Why don't you go outside and find out? I'll stay on the phone with you so you feel safe, alright?" Eric's advice sounded rational so Calleigh walked to her front door. She checked to make sure it wasn't locked from the inside before stepping outside.  
"I'm going outside now. It's still pretty warm out here isn't it?" Calleigh guessed that Eric was sitting outside, probably having an after-work beer.  
"Yeah, they say it might storm later. That'll break the humidity for all of, say, two hours?" Calleigh laughed at Eric's assessment.  
"Okay, I'm approaching the side window now." Calleigh sighed in relief as she spotted the man's profile. "Eric, it's Horatio. I'll talk to you later, okay?"  
"No problems Cal. See you at work tomorrow." Eric hung up and Calleigh reached up to knock on the window. Horatio hadn't spotted her and he jumped slightly as he turned to the window. He smiled in welcoming and wound down the window.  
"Ma'am."  
"Horatio, what you doing parking on my street in the middle of the night?" Calleigh's relief made her accusation sound light but Horatio treated it as serious.  
"Well, ma'am, I couldn't help feeling worried about you after what happened over the last two days." Here Horatio gave a shadow of a sheepish grin. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."  
Calleigh gave him a stern look. "You could have asked me after we apprehended Seth earlier today, Horatio. It wasn't like I couldn't spare you a moment."  
Horatio looked down and fiddled with his sunglasses. "I didn't want to interrupt you and Eric. You looked quite cosy." Horatio's quick glance said he was judging her reaction.  
"Of course we looked cosy Horatio. You and I used to look cosy when we were together. Didn't you ever think that maybe while you were busy pushing me away, Eric might have been taking your place? We used to be friends, Horatio, now I barely know who you are anymore. Instead of holding night vigils to make sure I'm safe, why don't you try talking to me?" Calleigh blew out an angry breath after her little rant. "I never stopped trying to connect with you Horatio. You just stopped noticing."  
Horatio was silent after that, sitting with his head bowed. Calleigh stood with her hands on her hips for a moment before sighing and pushing her hair back from her face. "Well you may as well come inside. You can keep watch just as well in there, and at least you won't wake up with a crick in your neck." Horatio looked up in surprise but didn't speak as he climbed out of the car. Calleigh led the way back to her front door and quickly let Horatio in. She locked it behind herself and then led Horatio down the hallway into the kitchen. A single flick of a switch turned on the lights lining the wall, making her kitchen feel like her gun lab. Calleigh saw an appreciative smile on Horatio's face as she turned to face him.  
"Coffee or something stronger?" Horatio made a quick glance of eye contact but he didn't hold it for long.  
"Coffee please. Have you indulged in something stronger tonight?"  
"Oh Lord no. I'd probably end up crying myself to sleep and I'm not giving that bastard that power." Calleigh ignored the way her voice shook but Horatio noticed and moved closer. The movement was halting and Horatio didn't come within reach.  
"Help me out Cal. Where do I stand with you?" Calleigh didn't answer for a moment while she focused on setting up the kettle for their coffees.  
"I don't know Horatio. I've spent so much time hoping that you'd come to me, share what's hurting you, and you keep going and doing these things that nobody understands; Rio last year, going up against someone wielding a DX4 without backup, not fighting for Kyle's custody. And then you get extradited to Rio two days ago and come back like it was nothing." Horatio opened his mouth to answer and Calleigh held up a hand. "Don't. If you offer me something now, how am I to know that it isn't just to appease me?" Horatio tilted his head and his expression showed that he'd got her point.  
"I don't know what to say, Calleigh. I don't think I realised how much I was affecting you. I thought that by pulling away I was saving you." Calleigh sighed and gave Horatio a tired smile.  
"Saving me from what, Handsome? Being hurt by you? I am hurting. What happened to the man who knew everything about our lives? I miss him. I miss the jokes about two-day old outfits and I miss you teaching us things we don't know. Maybe I don't need teaching but Ryan and Natalia would love your guidance. I realise that it's been four years and you've had a lot of tough things happen to you but you barely reach out to us anymore. I'm worried about you, Horatio, and I'm not the only one. And since we're worried about you, we want to help you through whatever you're dealing with." Calleigh closed the distance between them and took his hands in hers.  
Horatio stepped closer and Calleigh relished being this close to him. Horatio hadn't initiated physical contact since Marisol had died and the original members of the team had noticed. They stood quietly for a moment then Horatio spoke quietly, "Calleigh. I'm so sorry."  
"Don't be sorry. Just know that we're here for you." Calleigh gave Horatio a smile as the kettle boiled behind her. She turned and quickly set into making the coffee, pausing when she came to Horatio's cup. "Still white, no sugar?"  
"Yes Ma'am. Still white with two?" Calleigh smiled at the reminder that Horatio had cared to remember that.  
"Of course. Eric's been trying to convince me, but I just can't stop having those sugars. Keeps me sweet." Calleigh smiled cheekily at him and he chuckled.  
"You're always sweet, Sweetheart. Unless, of course, you're busy in interrogation."  
"Well, those bad guys are meant to be scared of me." Calleigh passed Horatio his coffee and gestured for them to walk into her lounge room. She sat in her armchair and tucked her legs up. Horatio sat on her couch and reached his coffee onto the coffee table.  
"And they are." Horatio's slight smile brought back memories of jokes shared over evidence and flirty comments made during cases. Horatio's head came up as he looked around her lounge room and Calleigh stayed quiet while he surveyed the room. Horatio stood and went to the shelves where Calleigh kept her photos of the team and picked up the frame that Calleigh knew held a picture of the team before Speed's death. "We were so different back then."  
"I know. I miss that. Mojitos at the bar aren't just what they used to be without the team." Calleigh held a hand out for the photo and Horatio stepped over to pass it to her. Calleigh smiled at the picture as Horatio sat down again.  
"Well if I can convince all the criminals in Miami to take the night off, why don't we make a dinner date for the team?" Horatio gave a shadow of his cheeky smile and Calleigh laughed.  
"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen. Perhaps we can settle for just a night when we're all rostered off?" Horatio nodded at Calleigh's suggestion.  
"I'll put a notice up in the break room tomorrow. Make it a week from now?"  
"Sounds good, Handsome. And while you're at it, why not make it a regular thing? Then we'll have a place to catch up outside of work every fortnight or two."  
"It's a deal." Calleigh laughed as Horatio raised his coffee cup for a clink. Horatio's answering smile was content and Calleigh hated to bring up issues but she needed to reconnect with her LT before they met up with the group.  
"Horatio, what happened in Rio? And not just yesterday." Horatio's smile faded slowly and he put his coffee down on the table.  
Calleigh watched as he kept his head down, obviously collecting his thoughts. "What happened in Rio? Hmm, that's, that's a tough question."  
"Just talk it out Horatio. I want to know." Calleigh reached over and laid a hand on Horatio's arm, feeling the play of muscles underneath Horatio's work shirt.  
"We went over to get justice for Marisol." Horatio's voice was thick, as though saying her name still hurt him deeply. "They let Riaz go. They didn't even hold him for a day. I should have left it at that; we both should have. But Riaz taunted me, mentioned Raymond. I went to check on him and found out that he was messed up in drugs again. Worse, Ray Jr. was involved as well. Then I realised that Eric had gone after Riaz. Riaz was about to take three of the things I hold most dear to me away as well as Marisol and I lost control. I saw red and I killed him, Calleigh." Horatio looked up and caught Calleigh's eyes and she fought not to look away. She found herself lost in the deep blue sea of them, feeling all of his pain and fear with him.  
"You were protecting Eric, Horatio. You had to do what you did. You were grieving Marisol, so yeah, part of you probably wanted to kill him, but you were protecting Eric and your family. Horatio, this is why you shouldn't be bottling this up; have you been carrying this all this time?" A wry smile from Horatio told Calleigh everything she needed to know. "Oh Lord, Handsome, no wonder you've been acting strangely."  
"After that, I wondered if maybe I'd had enough. Maybe I should have left CSI. When you got run off the road I was terrified that I was going to lose someone else and that without being part of CSI, I'd lose my ability to protect you, Ray Jr. and Yelina. So I withdrew but stayed on the team. Then, Eric got shot and my fear spiked, Calleigh. I spent my days trying to keep up while my nights were spent debating whether to quit while I was ahead. The last year and a half rushed by, Calleigh. Kyle has been the only thing keeping me grounded. But he's gone too. Julia isn't going to want me anywhere near him now that she's seeing Saris and he doesn't want to reach out to me." Calleigh squeezed Horatio's arm gently, wondering at how much he'd held inside.  
"Oh Horatio." She stood quickly and walked around to Horatio's other side, sitting next to him on the couch and wrapping an arm around him in a hug. She felt Horatio rest his head on her shoulder and rubbed his back supportively.  
"They didn't charge me in Rio. They let me go, expecting Mala Noche to kill me. Thank you for worrying, Calleigh. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you lately. Especially with that case involving your off-duty shooting."  
"Shh, Horatio. I don't care about that right now. And you were here for me, weren't you? Keeping another midnight vigil, warning people to keep away from me when I've had a stressful day. I've been through three different types of coffee since Speed died yet you knew when I switched back to my normal coffee. I guess the hardest thing for me to grasp is how you did all that without being around?"  
"Just because I was too scared to talk to you, didn't mean I couldn't watch. Every file comes through my office at some time or another. I know everything my team does on the clock. Stetler makes me go through mountains of forms verifying that you are where you're meant to be so I know everything about your jobs. But you're right. I used to know the personal too. I was the person Speed came to when he thought he'd gotten that girl of his, Michelle, pregnant. I didn't find out about Natalia's pregnancy scare until after night shift was done with the rumour."  
"Oh I remember that. That was before you went to Rio, though. Why did you miss that?" Horatio's head hadn't lifted yet but Calleigh could practically feel the sad smile.  
"I stopped paying attention after Speed died. I didn't want to get too close to anyone again. Alexx tried to talk me out of it after she started accepting Ryan. By then, she realised what we were both doing; shutting people out so that our job couldn't hurt us anymore." Horatio's head lifted to watch her reaction.  
"Well, Handsome, that is going to change, starting tomorrow. Your challenge, should you choose to accept, is to find out something new about everyone. Until then, I'm feeling rather tired, so why don't you take my guest room and get some rest?" Calleigh deliberately made her voice cheerful, hoping to lift the solemn mood that had descended.  
"That sounds like a good idea. Do you have a spare toothbrush I could borrow?" Calleigh smiled and nodded.  
"Between you and Eric, I could practically start a toothbrush business." Horatio's eyes darkened and Calleigh sighed in annoyance. "He stayed over a couple of times after a couple of pressing cases. Is there a reason you've been warning people off of me, Horatio?" Calleigh let her irritation show in her voice and Horatio began watching the floor again.  
"After Hagan, I was worried that you truly might quit if you had any more problems at work. I warned the team to try and keep things as easy-going as possible and to try and warn new detectives off of you. I didn't think you'd end up dating another CSI. I'm sorry, Calleigh, I shouldn't have done that."  
"No, you shouldn't have but that's alright. We can talk about that tomorrow. For now, all you need to know is that Eric and I aren't dating yet and if you wanted me, Handsome, you had your chance." Calleigh stood up and picked up the cups, leaving Horatio looking after her with a shocked look on his face. Calleigh laughed to herself as she remembered the crush that she had had on Horatio not five years ago.  
"When, exactly, did I have that chance?" Horatio's voice was quiet and Calleigh got the impression that he couldn't believe he was asking that question.  
"Back in 2002. The case with the sniper in particular. I still remember you telling me that I look good in black." Horatio's soft laugh said that he remembered it as well.  
"I meant it, then and now, Sweetheart." The nickname, that Calleigh hadn't heard in so long, sounded both strange and bittersweet.  
"Was all that flirting just innocent to you, Handsome?"  
The husky tone to Horatio's voice as he replied "Never," sent a shiver up Calleigh's spine.  
"Good." Calleigh sent him a flirty smile as she slipped past him and walked towards the hallway. "Leave the dishes, Horatio. Spare room's first on the left and there's a spare toothbrush in the bathroom cabinet. I have an ensuite so you don't have to worry about hogging the bathroom tomorrow."  
"Okay. Good night." Calleigh paused at her door and smiled at Horatio in return.  
"Night, Handsome. Thank you for coming to protect me tonight." Horatio's smile was the last thing Calleigh saw before she closed her door.

**Next chapter will be after "To Kill a Predator". Please read and review.**


End file.
